Category Archives: Amateur Radio

Amateur Radio, Classes, Makerspaces

Learning with Hams…

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Students learn about Amateur Radio Technician license privileges.
Students learn about Amateur Radio Technician license radio privileges and operating procedures.

Last night PCAUXCOM, the local Amateur Radio emergency communications group, began a FCC Amateur Radio operator’s license class at Castlemakers. It’s a great way to study for the test – although you can self-learn the material to get a license.

What they’re doing however embodies what often happens with vocations and hobbies – people practicing and learning with other people. Not only to learn quicker, but for enjoyment too. It can help make challenging things easier; in some cases even provide focus and accountability. In today’s noisy world with more opportunities than time that’s often difficult.

Makerspaces, and one of Castlemakers’ goals in particular, can bring communities of people together to share knowledge and skills by providing a space, events, equipment, and even just a reason for people to share something. Whether it be a CoderDojo (bringing kids and programmers together to explore programing languages), folks interested in 3D Printing (which also met last night to see printers in use at a high school classroom), or Amateur Radio operators and emergency volunteers assisting others to get a communications equipment operating license.

The PCAUXCOM class is meeting every Monday evenings from 6:30 to 8 pm at Castlemakers, it’s free and open to all, and still not too late to join in. They will also be offering a licensing test locally here in Greencastle just after the course is finished, contact George Edenfield for more information.

Amateur Radio, Making, STEM

Amateur Radio Convention

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Dayton Hamvention Slow Scan Video Transmission from Balloon at 1000 feet
Dayton Hamvention Slow Scan Video Transmission from Balloon at 1000 feet

It’s that time of year again when amateur radio operators, descend upon Dayton, Ohio for the annual Hamvention. This weekend (May 15-17th) in and around Hara Arena 25,000 people or so will be there to learn things at seminars, buy, and swap things. This is the biggest event in the Midwest for folks interested in making anything electronic – although the focus of the event is on amateur radio. But if you’re interested in making things, especially electronics, someone will be there selling what you need (or what you want!). I’ve seen everything from electronic kits to build almost anything to Geiger counters, it’s an amazing gawkfest that even includes some military surplus (I remember the collapsible towers were a big item, literally, several years ago).

While you’re there it may be worth a stop at Mendelson’s Surplus in downtown Dayton to check out the 6 floors of surplus ‘stuff’ in their main building (their website doesn’t do the place justice). And of course the USAF Air Force Museum, which I’ve written about earlier, is a great stop to make it an awesome STEM weekend – that’s worth a trip on it’s own.

This Friday we’ll be doing a 3D printer demo for a class at Tzouanakis intermediate school in Greencastle to show them how math is used in making 3D models and prints.  Will also be bringing the Printrbot printer to our next general Castlemakers meeting, which is being set up for late May.

Amateur Radio, STEM

Dayton Hamvention

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Dayton Hamvention Slow Scan Video Transmission from Balloon at 1000 feet
Dayton Hamvention Slow Scan Video Transmission from Balloon at 1000 feet.

Next weekend (5/16-18) in Dayton Ohio will be the annual Dayton Hamvention. With about 25,000 people attending that are interested in building ‘stuff’ and over 2000 outside flea market spaces (never mind all the indoor commercial vendors there) it is truly an amazing event for makers. This year’s theme even reflects that – “Makers… the future of Ham Radio.”

Many people when they hear about Amateur Radio (or Ham Radio) Operator imagine an elderly guy with a green visor hunched over a telegraph key. Matter of fact several years ago Jay Leno pitted teenagers using a cellphone against some amateur radio operators using morse code to see who was fastest at sending a message (the ham radio operators won).

Amateur radio these days is far from that doing everything from building and launching satellites, providing emergency communications during catastrophic and public events, bouncing signals off the moon to talk with other ham radio operators and much, much more. Many of our astronauts are ham operators and use the amateur radio station in the International Space Station to talk to classrooms. There was a group when I was in Terre Haute that was trying to put together a classroom broadcast to the space station -I’ve often thought that it would be a good educational experience for kids in Putnam county to talk live to an astronaut in space.

If you’re interested in finding out more about amateur radio in Putnam County, George Edenfield (KB9RZK) would be a good person to contact. He’s the IT person at Putnam County Public Library & you can reach him at 765.653.5327. I’m not longer ‘radio-active’ but still have my license and use the skills in electronics/home-brew projects/fabricating things that I learned as an amateur radio operator. Or head over to Dayton next weekend and gawk to learn more. If you’ve never been you’ll definitely be impressed. – Chris (N9VFD)